Seventeen-year-old Lucille is doing her best. Her dad left them after a breakdown, her mother has skipped town and Lucille’s left to take care of her younger sister for the summer. When their mother doesn’t return, she has to find a way to pay the bills and not let anyone know the truth in fear of being separated from her sister. Along the way, she finds herself falling for her best friend’s brother, Digby, and things get more complicated than she ever imagined.

I wasn’t too sure of what to expect going into this book other than I was sure the adults in the main character’s life would anger me. And that I would really enjoy the sisterly bond between the two girls. And I was right. I also got some great friendships, some caring adults, and a sweet romance.

Lucille was a good girl in a bad situation and just doing everything she could to come out of it. I felt for her. My head knew the right thing would be to tell an adult, get help from someone who could give her what she needed, but I could understand her fear. She showed a lot of growth through the book as she stepped up to take care of her sister, got a job, learned to trust and open up to people. She wasn’t suddenly an amazing caretaker, she had struggles and mistakes, and it made it all that much more realistic.

I really enjoyed the relationships Lucille had with the other characters in the book. From her adorable sister Wren, who could just as easily make me laugh or cry depending on her comments, to her best friend Eden, to the new friends she makes, to Digby Jones, the love interest of the book. They were just all fun to read.

It did feel like the book was trying to do too much in such a short amount of pages. The closer I got to the end, the more storylines seemed to come up and not everything felt like it was given the attention it needed to feel like an important plot to the story. It was a quick read because it was short but I would have liked to have seen it longer if that meant more attention to all the plots. Other than that, and it being a little bit predictable, it was a book that definitely made me emotional while reading, from happiness when the characters were laughing to anger at Lucille’s mother, to sadness that Lucille was forced to grow up so fast due to undependable parents.

Overall, I enjoy any book that can make me so emotional.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.